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Ok...I really think Bake Nezumi are all that's left of normal humanity. Some degenerated remnant either caused through psychic powers or whatever fallout from the strife in the past against power users

The way they cower before those with powers is the same as the crowds did before that bastard "emperor" at the start.

Coupled with how no normal humans apparently exist and the massacres at present day (1000 years ago at least) and how the Bake Nezumi seem to function more as GULAG labour gangs and you can see the case for that.

The school is more likely for the necessary act of training their powers so they don't destroy the tyrants in charge and the existing order that's all...I don't think it's something imposed on them by normal humans.

In short....it's one effed up tyranny it seems...the natural progression from madmen emperors to madmen secret cabal.

That was my exact reaction - I thought it was the midpoint eyecatch and the show was over.

Glad I wasn't the only one who felt this. I was so engrossed with what was happening that I didn't realize that the 20 minutes have gone by so fast. While there might be something wrong with the pacing here, ultimately I think this just says how much I want to know more of Shinsekai Yori.

The karma demon story was interesting.
Their rock pushing game was kinda fun to watch.
The power of the mind is a scary thing.
The broken pusher incident rattled them a bit.
Saving the Queerat was a nice gesture.

A friend recommended this to me, and I'm glad that he did. It's very engrossing, so much so that episode 2 went by in a flash. Looking forward to the next episode.

I know it's a little early to talk about this, but.. I wonder what kind of ending this show will have? How many of the 5 kids will survive? 1? None? Will they be able to change, or at the very least influence the world and/or society they live?

Maria's hair is such a nice red colour. I heart red heads, and she's no exception. I really like what she did with her hair during that sphere game.

Episode 2 ends, and I mutter "There is no way in hell that was 21 minutes already."

I'm trying so hard not to over-hype myself on this show, but it's hard. I adore how easy it is to inductively reason so much about what I'm watching, while at the same time remain completely in the dark about the specifics, or where it's all going.

Shinsekai Yori appears to trust you to take what information is given, and lets your imagination fill in the rest, as the visuals treat you to the occasional nod of confirmation, or head-shake of opposition. Every "Ah-ha" moment just leads to more questions. I feel like I'm being strung along, and in a good way.

The atmosphere is uncomfortable, and the world is alien, but it's in no way inscrutable. For example, they provided almost no information about the team sport, but just by watching it, I felt like I really came to understand what was going on. This culminates in the moment when the pusher is destroyed, which contradicts the one explicit piece of information we were given at the start: You can't attack the pusher. Suddenly, this game I didn't even know existed five minutes ago had me wanting to jump up and yell "Hey!! They can't do that!"

The reasoning behind the (seemingly) unreasonable nature of the village society is also starting to come into focus. The first episode's apparent victims were the weaker, perhaps less useful members of the community, but as others have pointed out in this thread, the story of the karma demon and the fate of Manabu -- ambiguous, but obviously unenviable -- suggest that this authoritarian culling may also serve to protect society from those who become too dangerous to endure. When Manabu got the stamp, I realized that I had completely misread the purpose of the game: What I had seen as yet another cruel way to identify the weak among the students instead served to lure out someone who would misuse their Cantus.

Absolutely fantastic. Everything I hoped for when I declared it a must watch a few months back. This is definitely an intriguing setting, and I'm glad it takes itself as seriously as it was marketed. There's a huge Ghost Hound vibe here, which is great.

The world these kids live in is all kinds of wrong, and the first major clue is when you notice how few children there are despite Saki's comment about there being so many in her old school. The silence on the subject is clearly noted as well, and the different "boogymen" like the Copycat, the Fiend, and the Karma Demon are clearly designed to scare children into following the rules, regardless of how real they may or may not be.

The entire village seems to be a weeding ground to keep undesirable children to a minimum: too weak, too prideful, etc. There's also a hint of the collective society which we still see in many cultures, such as Japan, in that people simply do not talk about their problems except in private. We see Saki's parents concerned about her fate, and I can only wonder about the parents of the other children. I also worry about the parents of "failed" children, which we've seen a small glimpse of in Saki's parents as well. That was a particularly troubling scene.

I note other foreshadowing as well, for example the brief glimpses of the Copycat, the words of a most likely adult Saki narrating at the end of the episodes, as well as the credit animations. Hopefully we'll learn more about what happened in those thousand years - there seems to be no trace of our current society, and instead there is an emphasis on even older cultural themes.

Clearly there is a lot of story to tell here, and I'm eagerly looking forward to it. If I had to criticize something, it would be the ED song. It simply does not fit the rest of the show, and it's rather jarring in how "pop rock" it sounds.

I’m inclined to believe all the stories the children are reciting are being used to condition/ control them so that they don’t do anything deemed unacceptable by the people in charge (ie rebel against the current establishment). The idea of two Juryokus warping space when they clash seems suspicious. Manabu did exactly that, but nothing happened. Perhaps it is something used to ensure the children don’t combine their powers to rebel? Gah. I want to know more!! T_T That last sentence about Maria totally threw me off.

Did anyone else notice in the boat scene, when older Saki was narrating, the words totally match Mamoru’s lips?

The way they cower before those with powers is the same as the crowds did before that bastard "emperor" at the start.

I don't think I agree with you here. The crowds in the flashback are excited to be there - their reaction is of awe, wonder and excitement to be there at the "cleansing", and they clap like mad while the Emperor "cleanses" them. There is no cowering.

The bakenezumi, on the other hand, act as subservient creatures that barely even speak Japanese. I don't think they share any similarities in behaviour.

I don't think I agree with you here. The crowds in the flashback are excited to be there - their reaction is of awe, wonder and excitement to be there at the "cleansing", and they clap like mad while the Emperor "cleanses" them. There is no cowering.

The bakenezumi, on the other hand, act as subservient creatures that barely even speak Japanese. I don't think they share any similarities in behaviour.

The clapping does seem forced actually....

Not surprising if it's due to plain fear.

But if it's really a fanatical cult-style of control, then it's even more insidious. And true, said style of control lends itself well to the whole esoteric school front they put up

That's why I say the Bake Nezumi could be mutated/warped/devolved into what they are

I don't think I agree with you here. The crowds in the flashback are excited to be there - their reaction is of awe, wonder and excitement to be there at the "cleansing", and they clap like mad while the Emperor "cleanses" them. There is no cowering.

The bakenezumi, on the other hand, act as subservient creatures that barely even speak Japanese. I don't think they share any similarities in behaviour.

In also wonder who would agree to be a slave laborer and have something written on their forehead. I bet the society enslaves the neighboring rat community.

Eh, really? I was under the impression they were clapping so furiously because the Emperor said the "first 100 people to stop clapping will become human sacrifices". They looked more fearful than anything else to me.

Eh, really? I was under the impression they were clapping so furiously because the Emperor said the "first 100 people to stop clapping will become human sacrifices". They looked more fearful than anything else to me.

Which is the stupid part. You should slow down and pace yourself to conserve your energy, not speed up.

Which is the stupid part. You should slow down and pace yourself to conserve your energy, not speed up.

But they were scared. Surely that can be understood, at least. And besides, that will be what people generally would do when confronted with all that fear - only those who can truly compose themselves will be able to think rationally.

Which is the stupid part. You should slow down and pace yourself to conserve your energy, not speed up.

Just a theory but if it were me standing there, I wouldn't dare to clap slowly. What if the emperor considered clapping slow = not clapping at all. What if it wasn't enough and he killed you anyway?
I wouldn't mind clapping till my hands bled, as long as I survived.